Venoans A Series of Short Stories is a refreshing new offering from author Adam Adams. It is a collection of short narratives that focus on the lives of community members of Venoa Beach. Each story is meant to reveal the truth hidden behind the facade upheld by society. Adams introduces a variety of colorful characters and complex stories that take the reader through different lives and authentic experiences.
As Adams says, his goal with this book is to encourage readers, especially teens, to focus on the realities hidden behind a false, constructed facade. Society might say one thing, but it’s important for people to learn to recognize the truth.
Venoa Beach is a community with people from all walks of life, so their lives interweave, and so do these tales. Readers will follow all members of the community, from high schoolers to gang members to the mayor to police officers to grifters. Adams portrays a variety of colorful and true-to-life characters, like teenagers standing up to a gang, girlfriends who scheme at the mall, The Mowing Man, the strange figure of a homeless man who holds a disturbed past secret, a fortune teller, and so much more.
Each story follows a unique group of characters, and then their stories intersect in an unexpected way. The end result is a portrait of a community more than just of individuals, the strange, disturbing, eccentric neighborhood of Venoa Beach, where all people live by a code that considers death and that allows big risks for an equally big payday.
Adam Adams has a background as a juvenile detention officer working in Orlando, Florida. He was born in Mount Vernon and raised in Durham, but currently, he resides in East Bronx in New York City. Starting in 2009, Adams began to pursue writing. Venoans: A Series of Short Stories is the first published book from this author, and it draws from his experiences and his view on society. In addition to writing, Adams is interested in divination, philosophy, sports, and music.
Venoans is a collection with interesting ideas and a keen eye that examines the lives of these community members: a fortune teller, teen girls and teen boys, cops, those on top, and those on the bottom. It offers insightful commentary and a message that the author creates and builds through the narratives of people in pursuit of money, facing conflict, and looking to escape their dark pasts or find a brighter future.
You can find Venoans: A Series of Short Stories on Barnes & Noble, and other book retailers and ebook distributors. The book is sure to please fans of contemporary fiction and those interested in stories with an original premise and structure, a focus on a community, and a sharp series of observations of reality that strive to go beyond the surface. It’s worth looking out for more releases from Adam Adams, who proves to have a knack for community-focused stories, casts of characters, and interesting structures and observations in his works.
We had the pleasure of interviewing Adam. Here are the excerpts from the interview.
Hi Adam, Great to have you with us today! Please share with our readers about yourself.
Hi, I am from Durham, NC, and my job is to try and be the best human being that I can possibly be.
Please tell us about your book, Venoans A Series of Short Stories.
I would describe this piece as funny but serious, fun but emotional, entertaining yet lesson-filled, and imaginative but real. My goal with this project was to encourage teenagers to cultivate their own perspectives by seeing through some of the facades society upholds. For instance, there’s a character in my story named “Messy Molly” who, at first sight, some would reject her because she may be walking around with her shoes untied or wild hair; however, she always describes everything and everyone as “amazing.” Why? Because SHE is. Of course, you would have to read it to know what makes her so amazing, but that’s just one of many examples of why my book is crucial to buy. It will free your mind and challenge you to face your fears because, like “The Godfather” in my story said, “to fear consequences is to fear living itself.”
Please share with our readers about your journey.
Well, I started taking writing seriously in 2009 after leaving a confusing relationship. So, I was about 22 years old. While sitting home in my parents’ guest bedroom in Deltona, Florida, I found myself going within to redefine who I was. I thought about things I used to do as a kid. Besides basketball, I used to spend a lot of time on a computer program my father got for my older brother, and I called Creative Writer. With this memory, I started writing my thoughts down in a notebook. After days of this, I stumbled upon the book Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson while cleaning out the nightstand in that bedroom. I read the book in about a day and a half and was immediately inspired to write the first novelette, which I later titled “The Maroon Boy.” The character who inspired this tale was Ben Gunn The Marooned Sailor, who found the treasure, just like I had found my treasure in writing.
Any message for our readers.
My message for the readers is that do not fear.
Fantastic! So tell us, how can people find out more about you?
You can follow me on Instagram @Authorsgrit. And, though my book is fiction, people will learn all they’ll ever need to know about me by reading my book.
Thank you so much, Adam, for giving us your precious time! We wish you all the best for your journey ahead!